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Bookbinding Links Roundup

When I find great bookbinding resources online, I tag them in del.icio.us, but I thought it would be useful to others if I put the best ones in one place here, just this once, since I tagged most of them before setting up my automated blog posts from del.icio.us to this site. Here’s a roundup of the top 20 links I’ve collected so far (not including my own tutorial or photos, though some links may have shown up previously in my blog posts).

It seems like you can either get a cool cover OR nice paper (suitable for use with a nice pen) OR a nice lay flat, durable binding. I finally realized that to get all three requirements, I would have to try my hand at making my own notebooks.

This tutorial introduction is aimed primarily at those who wish to preserve the content of old pulp paperbacks by photocopying them onto archival paper and then binding the results using an archival binding technique, the long-stitch.

What an awesome & useful way to preserve the great cover art of those vintage, hardcover books, that we treasured as kids. I picked one of my favorites, Nancy Drew & turned it in to this fun, mini, journal/sketchbook.

Several years ago, I was speaking at B & N and they were willing to let me bring in my self-bound books. I had attended my local book-binding and calligraphy guild and would have loved to have my books self-crafted that way, but for this ‘commercial topic’, it was not appropriate or possible.

I was frustrated when I was seeing my books at the University Bookstores which carried them, as on the shelf, this binding does not provide a readable spine.

There, I also saw a few other commercially-bound books which had a “new” form (then) where spiral bindings had the outer-diameter of the spiral wrapped-over and connected to front and back cover (there’s undoubtedly a business name for this binding … do you know it?). This provided a place for the title to be on the spine and seen when books were on the shelf, yet the book remained capable of being fully-flat when opened.

Can you shed any light about how to make this binding or specific sites which might be helpful?

I also hope that you will visit my blog, as its information is for everyone … either for treatment or for prevention!

I just stumbled on your site – I’m an Armenian ex-Londoner living in a small mountain town in Andalucia, southern Spain (by way of Washington DC and the Chesapeake Bay), and I write for a paper here called The Olive Press. You have a beautiful site and a great skill. And now I know where Westford is – looks magical.

I will send your site on to a friend here, a very fine jeweller whose father was a distinguished Scottish book illustrator and I think an amateur binder too. I wish you well with all your projects and plans.

[…] are a variety of online resources as well. Brian Sawyer has a great collection of bookbinding links here. These include everything from thorough tutorials to inspirations. Even more links are available at […]

Hey! Just browsing online for new websites on Book Arts. I’m kinda doing the same thing you are except I include Lesson Plans because I’m an art educator… I’ll be sure to link you on my Blogroll. If you see anything you like on my site, feel free to spread the word (and images) about it here on your website.

Hi Brian, another great source is http://www.outofbinding.com. Carmencho Arregui is one of the shining stars of contemporary bookbinding, and she presents several of her own binding creations, including tutorials. A gem of a website.

I would like to put our own site up as reccomended viewing. It has 10 free bookbinding manuals, plus interesting content. We also sell a range of learn at home DVD tutorials plus very good deals on leather and traditional wooden equipment.

The past few months, my Grandson and I have been working on a small website called iBookBinding (http://www.ibookbinding.com). Through this website we hope to pass some of my (sometimes questionable) knowledge onto others who might be interested in starting down a similar career path or simply those with an interest in the book arts.

I take a great deal of time to write each post and ensure that it provides the most comprehensive information possible without any ‘waffle’. My Grandson also works very hard in converting my sketches into digital images for use in the tutorials, to which I think he does an excellent job.

If you have a spare minute, would you mind taking the time to review our site and consider us for inclusion as a resource on this post?